Health Insurance For The Uninsured & Universal Health Care Coverage
Hello, and welcome to this installment of the health insurance news roundup. There was a lot of interesting tidbits recently, so we'll jump right in.
First, Wisconsin's Fond Du Lac newspaper has a scathing op-ed article on the health insurance plans of presumptive republican presidential candidate, John McCain. According to the story -- entitled "Commentary: McCain's health-care plan anything but 'comprehensive'." In the article, the author slams McCain's proposed health care system for not allowing people with preexisting conditions to acquire affordable health insurance plans. The author also states that McCain's plan is "a guarantee that insurance companies will continue to reap record profits and that working families will see an increase in their health-care costs." As I've not done too much research myself on the health care plans of any of the candidates at this point, I'd say take all of this with a grain of salt, but in the interest of fairness it's necessary to publish all viewpoints as I find them.
In a very interesting article on Taking Note entitled, "Debating the Road to Universal Coverage," the author talks about a recent report in The American Prospect discussing the path to universal health care and the potholes along the way. As one of the few for-profit health care systems here, there are a lot of debates on how to offer health insurance to everyone while keeping costs low. Some say more efficient health care systems are needed, while less spending on unneeded procedures or equipment might also help. There are a lot of factors at stake in this ongoing debate, so we'll keep an eye out on all of them.
In a related article, the OpEd News Network has an article entitled, "Survey: Support for national health insurance grows among physicians," they cite a survey posted in the Annals of Internal Medicine that states growing support by physicians for a national health care system, especially among psychiatrists (at 83 percent) and pediatric sub-specialists (at 71 percent). According to the article, support for a national health care system has grown significantly among physicians across the country.
The Newark Advocate has an article entitled, "Lack of health insurance hurts local residents." The article talks about how lack of health insurance leads to drastic consequences for residents of central Ohio, with two dying each day due to lack of health insurance, and I'm sure this is also true across the country. The article discusses how people are resistant or afraid to get health care if they lack adequate health insurance, as well as missing regular checkups and trips to the dentist because of a lack of insurance. In my opinion, it's a shame that people are afraid to get the health care they need due to these kinds of fears.
In a related article entitled, "In Good Health - Covering the uninsured" on the Frederick News Post, the author discusses how many Maryland residents -- over 700,000 -- also have to skip regular doctor's visits and the like due to lack of affordable health insurance. They recently had a "Cover the Uninsured" week in which they held public events to help individuals and families find affordable and cheap health insurance. The article discusses not only how many local businesses are cutting health insurance plans, but that many customers aren't aware of the options when shopping for affordable health insurance. Even though this article is on a local level, I'm sure there are similar problems nationwide in terms of customers not getting the health insurance they need.
So this installment covered mostly the topic of insuring the uninsured and a national health care system. Both of these topics are sources for much debate amongst those in the industry, and we'll be covering it more as the debate rages on. Until next time, have a safe and healthy day!